The Lion had just finished a hearty meal of Wildebeest and lay there in contentment, his stomach full and extended.
His Lioness wandered up to him, but before settling down next to him, she glanced his way with a look of disgust and quickly walked away. The Lion thought to himself – ‘well, I am a handsome fellow so it cannot be the way I look, it must be the smell of the Wildebeest’.

He called on a Deer to come towards him and asked her if his breath smelled.
“Baaaaa. You reek of dead flesh, my Lord” she replied honestly.
In his anger, he jumped up and bit off her head for being so blunt towards him.

He called on the Hyena to come to him and asked again, “Do I smell bad to you Hyena”?
“Oh no my King, you smell as sweet as the flowers in the meadow” – the Hyena charmingly responded.
The Lion pounced on the Hyena bringing his life swiftly to an end.
“I despise flatterers” he muttered to himself.

Next, he called on the Fox to come forward and said to him –
“Tell me truthfully Fox, is there an evil stench about me?”
“I cannot help you Sire”, replied the wily fox, “I am not well and my nose cannot smell anything. I will come back in a week if you wish and let you know then.”

And the Moral of the Story is:
Honesty is not always the best way of revealing truth about those who would cause you harm.
In times of danger, the wise say nothing until securing a position of safety.

Aesop’s Fables c.600 B.C.

There is a saying that “Honesty is the best policy” – and in many cases that is indeed true. However, with all proverbs and sayings, there are times when using intelligent awareness might require you to find a way through a situation without causing further insult or injury, by considering the needs and the circumstances of the event.

There is a vast difference between being honest and being blatant with the intent to cause offense –
“I was only being honest” is often the excuse used when someone has clearly offended someone rather than to suggest an alternative answer that shows better consideration of another’s situation.
Blatency is just being plain rude and inconsiderate of another’s feelings.
Emotional Intelligence obtained through the experience of life allows One to negotiate this minefield of human interactions.